Maxwell Technologies, a developer and manufacturer of ultracapacitor-based energy storage and power delivery products, announced that its ultracapacitors have been selected by Beijing Huadian Tianren Electric Power Control Technology, a subsidiary of China Guodian Corporation. One of the five largest power producers in the country, China Guodian Corporation’s system is building the first megawatt-scale, ultracapacitor-based…
Los Alamos tackles modernizing energy grid in DOE-wide Laboratory Consortium
Under a new, $220 million U.S. Department of Energy grid-modernization program, Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists will collaborate with other laboratories, academia, and state and local agencies on critical research and development in a number of key areas, such as advanced electrical storage systems and integrating clean energy into the grid. Up to $35.25 million…
SunEdison to provide Ontario with large-scale, flow-battery storage system
Global renewable energy development company, SunEdison, signed a 10-year agreement with Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) this past December to supply 5 MW (or 20-MWh) of battery storage to the province. The Ontario IESO works at the heart of Ontario’s power system, and is responsible for making sure everyone in the province gets the electricity they need,…
DNV GL, Liander, & Enexis reduce power failures in Dutch electricity grid by up to 25% with new smart cable monitoring system
DNV GL will manage and monitor the Smart Cable Guard system, which is capable of detecting approximately 65% of the weak spots and more than 95% of the failures in the underground medium voltage network (6 to 50 kV).
Northern Power Systems’ distributed wind turbine hits grid parity
Northern Power Systems, a next-generation renewable energy technology company, has made substantial operational improvements to its 100-kW wind-turbine platform. The result is a marked decrease in the delivered Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of wind power produced by its turbines. “The current LCOE makes the Northern Power platform even more affordable for farmers, local businesses, and…
NEMA welcomes final passage of highway bill
NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) says it welcomed the passage of legislation that supports wider deployment of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and electric vehicle charging systems on the nation’s highways.
EDF Renewable Energy closes 50% interest sale of Texas wind project
EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE) has closed on the transaction to sell 50% interest of the 194-MW Spinning Spur 3 Wind Project in Texas to a fund managed by BlackRock’s Infrastructure Investment Group. This transaction is the third of five signed agreements between BlackRock and EDF Renewable Energy to close. The remaining projects, Roosevelt (250 MW)…
Retired coal plant serves as new energy storage site
Duke Energy, LG Chem, and Greensmith are bringing new technology to the site of a 1952 retired coal plant with the completion of a 2-MW battery-based energy storage system. The new project is designed to increase reliability and stability for the electric power grid. As of November 17, the fast-response system is actively regulating electric grid…
AltaLink shows support for wind power in Alberta
AltaLink, Alberta’s largest regulated electricity transmission company, recently submitted a proposal to Alberta’s Climate Change Advisory Panel with recommendations for lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This past September, AltaLink also completed construction and energized a new transmission line, which will deliver wind energy from renewable generators in southern Alberta for the benefit of all of those…
GE completes acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid businesses
GE has officially completed the acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid businesses, following regulatory approval of the deal in over 20 countries and regions. It is GE’s largest-ever industrial acquisition, and spans the EU, the U.S., China, India, Japan, and Brazil. GE reached an agreement with Alstom in 2014 to purchase Alstom’s power and grid…
Siemens to present cost-reducing new products and grid technology at EWEA 2015
Siemens plans to present their latest innovations to further reduce the cost of wind power at one of the most important trade show for wind energy in Europe, EWEA 2015 in Paris. The event takes place November 17 to 20 (M01 in pavilion 1 of the Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles) and Siemens will have a…
Analyzing the value of energy storage
By 2019, GTM Research expects the energy storage market in the United States to add 861 MW to the grid annually and be valued at $1.5 billion. That’s about 11 times its size in 2014. This year alone, the country is expected to deploy 220 MWs, which is more than three times its 2014 total.…
A few ideas for an improved 21st century grid
By Jochen Kreusel Head of Smart Grids, Global | ABB, Inc. A couple decades ago, wind power slowly began to make its way into the mainstream electric power-supply system. At the time, it was assumed this source of renewable energy could easily connect to the existing grid without fundamental changes. As wind power has grown…
We need a smarter, greener grid, but how?
This article, from Foley and Lardner LLP, is authored by David Zoppo. There is no denying that the U.S. electrical grid is in need of replacing, but the route to achieving that goal is unclear. The EPA added another curve in June 2014 with its proposed and highly controversial Clean Power Plan, which requires the…
The emerging microgrid market
If you’re looking to invest in the energy market, you might want to consider the growing microgrid industry. At least that’s what Tesla Motors is doing. The maker of the sleek Model S electric car aspires to become a major player in the business of microgrids, and for good reason. Recent analysis from Frost &…
AWEA report: Wind energy helps build a more reliable and balanced electricity portfolio
Earlier this year, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released a report that answered 15 of the most common questions about wind power, reliability, and the grid. Entitled, “Wind energy helps build a more reliable and balanced electricity portfolio,” the report is based on grid operators’ real-world experience integrating wind power and dozens of studies conducted by grid operators examining how higher…
General Cable’s new E3X Technology cost-effectively optimizes the nation’s power grid
General Cable is proud to present its new groundbreaking E3X Technology at the IEEE PES General Meeting (July 26-30, 2015), which enables utilities to optimize the power grid by adding more capacity and controlling losses. Ultimately, this results in improved sustainability, reliability, and resilience with significant first-cost and long-term operational savings. The patent-pending E3X Technology…
NEC Energy Solutions introduces next-generation grid energy storage technology
NEC Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of NEC Corporation, introduced its next-generation SLD technology. It is the latest addition to the energy storage technologies available on the GSS grid energy storage platform. The SLD energy storage technology will utilize lithium-ion cells based on NEC’s lithium manganese oxide chemistry. The SLD technology, offered as complete turnkey systems…
NEC and Amergin Energy partner to deploy 60 MW of grid energy storage by 2016
NEC Energy Solutions and Amergin Energy LLC announced an agreement to deploy at least a 60-megawatt (MW) network of NEC Energy’s integrated battery storage systems for Amergin’s late stage developments for grid‐scale energy storage within PJM Interconnection. This network is expected to commence construction in 2015 and be fully operational by mid‐2016. The 60-MW network…
Siemens hands over world’s largest offshore grid connection to TenneT
Siemens has handed over SylWin1, the third North Sea grid connection this year, to its customer TenneT. The German-Dutch transmission grid operator has now put the world’s most powerful grid connection to date into commercial operation. The offshore platform of the SylWin1 grid connection is located around 70 kilometers west of the island of Sylt,…